Why Sweetgreen Stock Soared 37% in May

Core Insights - Sweetgreen's stock surged 37% last month following a strong earnings report and the announcement of its expanding robotic kitchen program, Infinite Kitchen [2] - The company reported a 26% increase in revenue for the first quarter, reaching $157.9 million, surpassing estimates of $152 million [3] - Sweetgreen's comparable sales growth was 5%, indicating improved performance at existing stores and revenue growth through expansion [3] Financial Performance - The average unit volume for Sweetgreen's restaurants was $2.9 million, comparable to leading restaurant operators like Chipotle [3] - Adjusted EBITDA was $0.1 million, a significant improvement from a loss of $6.7 million in the same quarter last year [3] - The restaurant-level profit margin increased from 14% to 18%, while the GAAP per-share loss improved from $0.30 to $0.23, although it was worse than the expected loss of $0.16 [3] Future Outlook - Sweetgreen raised its revenue guidance for the year to $660 million to $675 million, up from a previous range of $655 million to $670 million [4] - The company also increased its same-store sales growth guidance from 3%-5% to 4%-6% and raised its restaurant-level profit margin forecast to 18.5%-20% [4] - The fast-casual salad market presents significant growth opportunities for Sweetgreen if it can achieve profitability [4]